Valentine's Day: Japanese women push back against ritual of giving chocolates to male colleagues
📖 push back against 拒絕接受；這個短語具體看柯林斯的解釋：If you push back against something, such as a change or criticism, you refuse to accept it or try to prevent it.
例如：How do we push back against urban poverty without replacing one need with another need?
Some firms are now banning the tradition that is viewed by many as an abuse of power
Women in Japan are rebelling against a long-standing tradition which forces them to give chocolate to male colleagues on Valentine’s Day.
📖 rebel against 反抗；rebel at 反感
📖 long-standing 存在已久的；特別指agreement或者tradition
The ritual, which is called giri choco, started in the 1950s and translates as 「obligation chocolates」.
📖 translate 可譯；這裡是不及物動詞，表達to be able to be translated，所以當它做「可譯（為）」的時候，不要用被動語態
例如：This word does not translate. 這個詞沒法翻譯
Women in the workplace are expected to buy chocolates for their male co-workers, and men are supposed to return the favour on 14 March on White Day – an event devised by chocolatiers in the early 1980s to boost sales.
📖 in the workplace=at work 在工作場所；當然at work也可以表達「現在正在工作」的意思：Don’t me at work 別在我工作的時候打電話給我
📖 return the/a favour 報答恩惠
📖 devise 設計；相當於create，不是design這種含義的設計
📖 chocolatier 巧克力製造商
📖 boost sales 刺激銷量；我們常見的還有to boost the economy 促進經濟增長、to give sth a boost 宣傳某事物
However, growing numbers of women are snubbing the Valentine's Day tradition, instead opting to buy presents for themselves rather than spending thousands of yen on chocolates for colleagues.
📖 growing numbers of... 越來越多的；特別挑出這個希望大家能學習下，這個短語簡直就是more and more的理想替身，寫作提到「越來越多人」、「越來越多國家」等等都可以用growing numbers of來替代
📖 snub 冷落，怠慢；to be subbed by... 受到怠慢
📖 opt 選擇；opt to do sth 選擇做某事；opt for sth 選擇某物
📖 yen 日元
📖 這句話的instead是副詞，不是instead of，放在opting to...這句話的前面是因為後面rather than是同個意思，避免拗口提前了
Some firms are now banning the tradition, which is viewed by many in the country as a form of abuse of power and harassment.
📖 harassment 騷擾；a victim of harassment 被騷擾著
A survey of women in Japan found more than 60 per cent will instead buy chocolates for themselves on Valentine’s Day this year, while only 35 per cent of women said they planned to offer chocolate to their male colleagues.
📖 per cent和percent是一樣的，沒有誰對誰錯，選擇兩個只是偏好問題
More than 56 per cent said they would give chocolates to family members, while 36 per cent would make the same gesture towards partners or someone they fancy.
📖 make the same gesture 這裡的意思是「做（跟前面提到的購買巧克力）同樣的舉動（事）
📖 fancy 愛慕；比如：I rather fancy her 我看上她了
Belgian chocolatier Godiva ran a full page advert in a Japanese newspaper ahead of Valentine’s Day last year, urging businesses to tell women not to hand out chocolates to men at work if they felt pressured to.
📖 ahead of 在...前面
📖 urge 催促，力勸
📖 businesses 公司；這個已經講了第三遍了，可數名詞是「公司」的意思
📖 hand out 分發；hand out sth to sb
It said: 「Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day when you tell someone your pure feelings. It’s not a day on which you’re supposed to do something extra for the sake of smooth relations at work.
📖 sake 目的；for the sake of 為了...目的
📖 smooth relation 和諧的關係；學習這個搭配
「So men, especially if you’re the top person in your company, tell the women in your office 『don’t force yourself to give anyone giri choco』.」
Japan has recently been in the public eye for failing to recognise gender equality in the wake of the global #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault.
📖 sb is in the public eye for sth 某人因為某事為大眾所關注；不要隨便替換arouse attention這種短語，以為文章出現的這個指的是被大量電視媒體報導引來關注，不是簡簡單單的被關注
📖 in the wake of 在... 之後；不是在什麼初期，這個短語第二次出現了
The East Asian country ranks bottom of the G7 countries on female representation in politics and business.
📖 rank bottom 排名墊底
A number of medical universities in Japan last year admitted to meddling with entrance exam scores to deliberately put female applicants at a disadvantage.
📖 meddle vi. 管閒事，瞎搞；meddle with 擅自擺弄，meddler 愛管閒事的人
📖 deliberately 故意地
📖 put sb at a disadvantage 是某人處於不利地位/劣勢（記下來！！！）